Christmas 2013: The Family Meets William
by trycee
Summary: It's Christmas 2013 and 14 yr old William has never met his uncles Bill or Charles or any of his much older cousins who are all fathers themselves and who aren't open minded. Can he fit in with his own family? A family he was not raise in? And will they accept him?
1. Chapter 1

**Christmas 2013**

**The Family Meets William**

**by Trycee**

**Time-Line: Christmas 2013**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

William sat on the sofa in his parents living room, trying to block out their chatter as they moved furniture out of the way of the pre-light 8 ft Christmas tree Mulder was setting in place. William ignored them as he texted another girl he liked, smiling to himself at the newest one. She was a little older than he was, a sophomore and he was sure she wouldn't want anyone to know she was texting him. He didn't care, he wanted to see where this new 'text relationship' was going if anywhere. Scully could see the lopsided grin on his face as she watched him glued into his cell phone. She sighed and shook her head, knowing she wasn't going to get any work out of him without a battle. "William Mulder! I have been asking you now for the last time to get up and help us!"

William sighed loudly so both his parents could hear him. Mulder looked down at Scully and then over to William. He walked up to his son and reached out his hand. "Give me the phone."

"Why?"

"I SAID, give me the phone!"

William rolled his eyes and handed him his cell phone and then stood up from the couch. He was almost at Mulder's height. "I don't understand. What's all the fuss anyway? I just want some cash for Christmas!"

Scully dropped the carefully labeled Christmas lights back into one of the boxes and stared at William. "This is the first Christmas we get to spend with you and this is the first Christmas our family gets to meet you, William. What's with the attitude?"

"Who still celebrates Christmas?", he said, glancing down at his phone in Mulder's hand.

Mulder noticing Williams agitation, quickly pocketed the phone. "Help out your mom and me and you can get your phone back...attitude-free, that's is!"

"Fine," he said, heading towards the attic door. "You know, if you let me use my powers, I could have this tree up and decorated in a second."

"And that would ruin the whole experience," Scully said, trying to figure out why William was in such a bad mood. "William, come here!", she said.

He walked over to his mother and she stared up into his identical blue eyes. She smoothed her hand over his forehead and hair like she always did to Mulder. "What's going on? What's wrong?"

"I don't like Christmas in particularly," he said.

"But, why?"

"Because I can remember," William said. "I can remember you crying all those years. Every year you would cry for me and for Emily and I could feel you so strongly that I would cry," he said, looking down at his mother who quickly cupped his chin. "I would spend Christmas crying and all I wanted was to be back with you and to take away your pain and I couldn't. I was too young to understand it but I could feel your emotions and I just never liked this time of year because this was the time that you mourned me and Emily."

"But you're here William", she said, looking into his eyes, "It's okay now. We have you back home. I'm happy now. I feel complete for the first time in my life."

He shook his head no. Scully looked perplexed.

"My adopted parents tried to make me happy but I wasn't there with them, I was with you. And every year you mourned me and you mourned Emily..."

Scully gasped and looked at Mulder. His eyes locked onto to hers briefly until she turned back to look up into the sorrowful eyes of William. "The loss would be so great, so enormous and so deep that I started to hate this time of year."

"But William, your here with me now."

"But Emily isn't," he said, as tears trailed his young cheeks.

Scully wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and brought him down to her level as he enclosed her small frame and cried into her shoulder. "Oh William, I didn't realize you were so affected by it all."

"She was my sister," he said. "I didn't know her but I knew of her," he said. "Because of who and what I am, I knew of her. And I knew you still mourn her loss."

Scully looked at Mulder and her eyes cast down. "I do. I probably always will. Even as a baby, you and I were connected emotionally," she sighed, holding him tightly. "If I cried, you would cry. You feel me and I feel you. We are very connected, William. But your sister would not want you to miss out on memories with me and your dad. She would want you to move on. That's something I didn't have with Emily."

"Memories?"

"Time," Scully said, as she pulled back to look into the face of her son whose hair color, skin tone and eyes were like her own but his jawline and lips were like Mulder's. "And memories. She was mine for such a short time," she said, as a tear trickled down her cheek. "But, now I have you and your dad and I want to makeup for the time we lost with you, and have the things we didn't have with her, do you understand?"

He nodded his head.

"Now, come on!", she said, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "We've cried enough," she said with a double meaning. "Come on...We need to decorate this tree so your Uncle Bill will have something to complain about besides your dad."

Mulder smirked.

William and Scully chuckled and turned to look at Mulder. He was scowling. "Oh, Mulder," Scully said, reaching out and touching his hand. "From what I hear, he's pretty tame now. He's a grandpa now, so he's not as mean."

"He better not be," Mulder said. "Besides, this is my tree and my decorations!"

"Whose tree and decorations?", she said, raising an eyebrow.

Mulder cleared his throat and shot a quick glance at William and then looked back at the tiny but fierce woman in front of him. "It's _**our**_ tree, _**our**_ decorations."

"That's right!', Scully said. "And it won't be complete without your spinning UFO topper, will it, Mulder? Bill was so fond of it the last time," she said, sarcastically.

"What happened?", William asked.

"Oh, your dad had to put your Uncle in his place that's all."

"So what's with the feud between you and Uncle Bill?", William asked.

"He hates me," Mulder stated as they unloaded the decorations. "That's all you need to know. He hates me."

William smiled. "He hates you because he thinks you are the reason for mom's sister's death though he knows that's not true," tapping into both of their minds.

Scully looked at William and nodded. "Yeah."

"But he really hates Dad because you fell in love with Dad and because he felt that you threw your career away for a guy that chases around extraterrestrials."

Mulder glanced at Scully and their eyes lingered on each other for a moment.

"Well," William said, "He's gonna love me!", he said, spreading out his hands and in an instant the boxes full of Christmas lights and ornaments were empty. Both Mulder and Scully turned to look at the Christmas tree and it was fully decorated with their signature mixture of Christmas ornaments with UFO ornaments and a few blue Hanukkah ornaments representing Mulder's Jewish heritage. The UFO topper was spinning at the top of the tree and flashing various bright colors as if it had just landed on Earth and the tree was lit up and sparkling with various greens, pinks, reds and blues capturing the eye. Scully with a glare turned to look at her defiant son but he had a smirk on his lips. He held out his hand and Mulder slammed his phone back into his hand.

"See ya!", William said, taking off for his room.

Mulder looked at the tree and kicked at a box. "Damn smart alack kid!"

"He gets it from you," she sighed.

Mulder looked at her but his mind reflected back on the numerous times over his lifetime he would defy authority and he nodded. "You're right. We'll, I guess I'll put the empty boxes in the attic. Now what?"

"We still need to figure out sleeping arrangements. Whose gonna stay here. Whose gonna stay at Mom's."

"Bill can stay at your mothers!", Mulder said, gathering a few boxes and tossing them up into the attic without walking up the stairs.

After Mulder had completed his task with the boxes, Scully pulled out the vacuum and cleaned up the living room. "You know Mulder, this tree is so gorgeous. We shouldn't let it go to waste...," she said, with a sparkle in her eye."

"Scully...," Mulder said, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. "William is right down the hall."

Scully erupted into laughter, slapping him lightly on the arm. "Mulder!", she said, with a giggle. "I'm not saying for us to do the naked pretzel on the living room rug."

"No?", he said, disappointed.

She giggled some more as Mulder watched, mesmerized at her incredible beauty. He bent down and kissed her deeply, pulling her close to him. Slowly they parted. "What was that for?", she said, with sparkling eyes as she stared into his lustful eyes.

"I couldn't resist," he sighed. "You're so beautiful and you're mine and I couldn't resist."

"I love you too," she said, touching his cheek. "Let's get some wine and play a little music and just cuddle by the fire and watch the snow fall?"

"Sounds like a plan," he said, reluctantly releasing her.

Mulder gathered some candles and wine glasses as Scully gathered the chilled wine from the fridge door and a soft blanket from the linen closet and adjusted the stereo to Christmas carols. Mulder lit the candles and poured the wine and handed her a glass as she spread the blanket over them. He stretched his arm out and Scully snuggled in laying her head against his chest. She breathed him in and he breathed in the fruity scent of her hair. They were content as they watched the snow fall from the large picture window as Mariah Carey's melodic voice belted out a Christmas carol. Mulder caught Scully's glass in time before she fell asleep. She was notorious for falling asleep like a child with car rides or during romantic moments, he thought back. It was a quality that he thought was adorable since the time they were only partners. He had always loved to watch her sleep but unlike in his youth when he would watch her sleep for hours, he now fell asleep right next to her.

William walked out of his bedroom with his stomach grumbling. He found his parents asleep on the couch curled up together and he couldn't help but stare. His father's arm was protectively wrapped around his mother's shoulder drawing her closer. He smiled as he looked at them. He was careful not to wake them as he turned and looked back at them one last time before heading towards the kitchen to scrounge for something to eat. Soon he knew there would be more holiday food packed in the fridge then it could handle but right now there was mostly his mom's healthy salads fixings and just plain stuff he didn't really want to eat. He spotted a pack of his dad's sunflower seeds and headed for his bedroom, leaving them to sleep in peace.

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	2. Chapter 2

**Christmas 2013**

**The Family Meets William**

**Part 2**

**by Trycee**

**Time-Line: Christmas 2013**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

"I'm excited," Maggie stated, as she rolled out cookie dough in her daughter's kitchen.

Scully was wearing a Christmas apron her mother had given her as she manned the oven, removing trays filled with baked cookies and shoving new trays filled with various from scratch cookies ready to bake. She, like, her mother had flour on her cheek and in her hair. "Well, I am worried about how Bill will react to William. I mean, it will be nice to see Junior and Patrick's kids and even Matthew's baby girl. I mean, can you believe it? Matthew has a child too..."

"I've seen photos," Maggie said proudly. "Every single one of them a red head."

Scully chuckled. "Well, I just hope the visit goes smoothly. William is such a sensitive boy. I don't think he'd take Bill's ways."

"Tara told me that since Bill's retired and since he's now a grandpa, he's pretty calm."

Scully dipped a finger into a bowl of sugary icing and tasted it. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"Always the skeptic, " her mother sighed. "Dana, Matthew is a young father now and he relies on Bill's advise to guide him. Bill couldn't be prouder and happier at this moment. "

Scully looked at her mother who was older but still quite spry. "Mom, I'm saying that I just am not sure how William will take any of Bill's...you know. William can be a hand full as you know."

"Yes I know," Maggie sighed.

"I think he drives Mulder up the wall more than me," Scully smiled. "It would just be nice to have a nice Scully/Mulder holiday without any drama, if possible."

Margaret Scully raised an eyebrow and stared at her daughter. "Dana," she said, shaking her head. "Be realistic!"

Mulder sat in his office scrolling through his laptop, researching his latest paranormal cases when there was a knock on his office door. "Come in," he called out.

"Hey Dad," William said, "Got a minute?"

"For you. Always," he said, pushing back his chair. "Come in and sit a spell."

William searched around his office and finally found his other chair covered in books and newspapers and after placing them on the floor, he pulled the chair near his father.

"So whats on your mind?", Mulder asked, looking at his young son.

It still amazed Mulder just how much William still looked like Scully but he could see himself so clearly in their son. William had his height, his smile and the older he became the more he took after him from the way his red hair had darkened to auburn to the way he walked, to the charming way he had about him with girls.

"You're thinking about how much I'm like you," William said.

Mulder smiled. "I can't help but notice how much you still look like your mom but I still see me in you."

William smiled. "Yeah, you're in here."

Mulder nodded. He placed his hand on William's shoulder. "You're wondering why I'm staring at you aren't you?", Mulder asked, mimicking William's questioning. "It's because when I look at you, I know that you are the last of the Mulder's," he said, with sincerity. "I know your probably too old for this and it probably makes you uncomfortable when your mom and I stare at you and say stuff like this."

William shrugged his shoulders.

"Its just that," Mulder sighed, remembering his distant mother Teena, and Bill Mulder, the father that raised him, and his lost sister Samantha, all who had passed on. "When I look at you...I see so much," he said, with a pat to William's shoulder.

William nodded. "Dad?"

"Yeah?", Mulder said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his legs.

William rubbed his hands against his pants and looked down at the floor. "What are they like?", he asked, looking up at his father.

"Who?"

"My cousins," William said, licking his lips. "I've never met them and I'm getting a little nervous."

Mulder cocked his head to the side. He thought back to his past memories of all the times he'd been around Charles' two sons Junior and Patrick whom he'd met as teenagers. Charles at least had liked him but his sons were more like they're Uncle Bill. They were for the most part respectful but they're distain for him was obvious. Bill's son Matthew on the other hand had spent most of every holiday from what he remembered spilling his food all over him. He also kept asking him why he hadn't his Aunt Scully at the last Christmas gathering which ignored the hell out of Mulder but Matthew hadn't been too bad from what he remembered. He actually kind of liked Matthew from what he remembered though he was still in fact Bill's son. It was just a matter of time before he too would hate him and Mulder was sure that time had come now.

He looked into William's blue eyes. "You're mom would be better at answering that question. It is her nephews."

"I know," he sighed. "But when mom thinks about her nephews she goes blank."

"What do you mean?"

William sighed. "Mom doesn't know much about them. She didn't spend that much time with them really."

Mulder nodded. "Yeah, she kind of missed out on their lives being with me," he said. "What are you worried about?"

William shrugged again. "What if they hate me."

Mulder smiled warmly. "I'm sure they will but if you think at all like they're talking down to you or treating you disrespectively, let me or your mother know and we'll handle it."

"Or I can handle it!", William said, with an eyebrow raised.

Mulder shook his head no. "Your mom and I will handle it," Mulder said more firmly. He patted his son on the shoulder. "Don't expect the bad. I know you can tap into our heads and see the past but that doesn't mean that they'll treat you that way."

William nodded his head. "Okay. So...", he said, with a mischievious grin. "What are you getting me for Christmas?"

"Hmm?", Mulder said, wiggling his eyebrows. "What do you want for Christmas?"

"You haven't bought anything yet?", William said.

Mulder shook his head no. "Not yet, no. It's kind of a tradition, your mom and I with the last minute shopping," he said with a smile. "We never would have time to go and shop like normal people."

"Cause you'd be on a case somewhere?"

"Yeah, most of the time it was just my attempt to spend time with her," he said, with a chuckle. "But, I just wanted to be with her so badly I would come up with stupid cases and we'd go off looking for aliens or ghosts at Christmas and so we'd only get to the store when we could. I think your mom was better at it than I was though. She's always better at those things than I am."

"I'll get back to you about what I want," William said.

"Well, we already got what we wanted," Mulder said, looking at his son.

William smiled. "Me too, dad."

Maggie filled several cookie tins with the homemade cookies and looked over at her daughter. "I'm pretty tired."

"So am I," Scully sighed. "This should be enough cookies, right?"

Maggie surveyed the six large cookie tins. "If not too bad. We're tired!"

Scully smiled. "So whose all staying at your house?"

"I'm sure you wouldn't want Bill here."

"Definitely not," Scully said. "So, Tara and Bill at your place and Matthew's wife and baby, whats the name?"

Maggie held up her hand. "Hold on," she said, quickly washing her hands and rushing to retrieve her cell phone. She returned to the kitchen and showed Scully the photos of a young red headed Matthew dressed in a Marine's uniform with an equally young girl holding a baby standing beside him. "They were high school sweethearts, Her name is Amy and the baby's name is Christine," Maggie stated. "They're so young. But doesn't he look like a younger version of Bill?"

Scully stared at the photos but was silent. Maggie looked at her curiously. "What is it?"

"The name Christine," Scully sighed.

"What is it?", Maggie questioned.

Scully shook her head. "It's nothing...it was just Emily's middle name."

Maggie touched her cheek. "Your mind goes back every year to Emily."

"It was sixteen years ago," Scully sighed. "She'd be nineteen right now."

Maggie touched her arm.

"I just told Mulder and William I wouldn't get sad about it," Scully said,

Maggie smiled to her daughter. "Dana, your secret is safe with me! Now, lets clean up this kitchen."

"So,"Scully said, loading the dishwasher. "When will Bill and Charles and the rest start coming?"

"In two days but first, Junior and Patrick alongwith their wives and kid will stay at Charles''," Maggie said beaming. "Can you believe it, I'm a great grandmother?"

"Congratulations, mom!", Scully said, wrapping her arms around her mothers waist for her hug.

"The boys'll visit with their parents Charles and Janet and then they'll all fly out on Monday and drive here from D.C," Maggie continued. "And Oh, Thank You," she said. "I'm so excited because I've never met any of my great grand kids."

"Are you ready for a house full of screaming babies and dirty diapers and a few little kids running around?", Scully asked.

Maggie cupped her mouth. "I am," she said, keeping her mouth covered. "It's going to be chaos but it'll be family!", Maggie smiled. "And the best part for all us will be that they'll get to meet William!", she said.

Scully smiled as she looked into her mother's soulful eyes. "Yeah, you're right. He'll finally get to meet his family."

"That's right," Maggie stated. "And Dana," she said, looking at her daughter carefully. "Don't worry about Bill. Bill couldn't possibly be that stupid to mess with William!"

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	3. Chapter 3

**Christmas 2013**

**The Family Meets William**

**Part 3**

**by Trycee**

**Time-Line: Christmas 2013**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

William was knee deep in snow as he shoveled the walkway. Mulder looked up at his son from where he was shoveling and could see that he was had headphones on listening to music. He pointed towards the bags of salt on the porch and William tore one open. He dipped his hand in the bag and began sprinkling the porch, steps and walkway with salt. Mulder finished shoveling up to the driveway and turned and grabbed the bag from Williams hand and began to salt the area he had just shoveled. He could see William grabbing up the shovels out of the corner of his eye to put them up and he smiled. So many times Mulder had pictured moments like this one, moments he thought he'd never have with his son. William returned from storing the shovels in the shed on the side of the house and Mulder patted his shoulder. "You ready to have the house bombarded with strangers?"

"Not really," William sighed, looking up into Mulder's eyes.

Mulder could see he was still very nervous. He patted his back. "Come on, your mom and grandma are cooking breakfast."

William and Mulder opened the door and Scully looked up and smiled. She immediately walked past her mother in the kitchen and walked up to Mulder. Mulder's face was red and cold and he was unbuttoning his coat and slipping off his gloves. He noticed her standing and waiting and he bent down and his eyes locked onto hers. "I love you," she was saying with her eyes. He smiled and bent down to her level and pressed his lips to hers. "Good morning!"

"Good morning!", she sighed. "You've both been up pretty early,"

Mulder could read between the lines. He knew that what Scully meant was that she had woken up alone that morning while he had gotten dressed and awakened William and they'd both tromped outside at 5 in the morning to start shoveling before her family arrived the day before Christmas Eve. It was Scully's way of saying that she'd missed waking up in his arms and so he kissed her again, placing his hand on his spot. "Sorry Scully. We had to take care of the front, you know, open up the gate, shovel the snow, put down salt. We were making sure they could drive straight up"

"You didn't want to use the snow blower?", she asked.

Mulder shook his head. "It wasn't that bad besides Junior and I could handle it," he said, looking towards William who was seated at the table with a plate of food in front of him that his grandmother had prepared for him.

Scully clasped her robe tighter and then looked up at his eyes. "Your cold. You need to eat and get out of these wet clothes," she sighed, touching his face and cheek. "I don't want you getting sick before the family gets here, Mulder. I don't want you or William spending Christmas sick."

He guided her back towards the kitchen where Maggie dressed in her pajamas and a robe, shoved a plate in his face. He sat down next to his son and began to eat his meal. Scully quickly sat a mug of coffee next to him.

"Bill messaged me at two in the morning," Scully said, as her mother as well as herself joined Mulder and William at the table. "They'd just arrived in D.C."

Maggie looked up surprised from her coffee mug. "All of them?"

"All of them," Scully smiled. "Charles and Janet and the boys and they're families should be here soon. And Bill too though they took a separate flight than Charles obviously living in different cities in California," Scully said. "But yeah, they should all be arriving at the same time and not long from now."

"Not long at all," William said. "I think I want to change," he said, pushing his empty plate away from him.

Scully looked at him curiously. "What is it?"

"I don't want them to meet me for the first time dressed like this," William said, standing up. He wore winter boots that were dripping wet from the snow which only made Scully sigh even louder.. He was dressed in sweat pants that were wet from shoveling snow and a thick sweater. "I'm gonna shower and change," he said, heading towards his bedroom.

"Yeah, I think I'll do the same," Mulder said. "We were out there awhile," he said, kissing Scully on top of her forehead.

She gathered up their two empty dishes before heading towards the kitchen and placing them in the dishwasher. Maggie continued to sip on her coffee when suddenly several cars pulled up into their driveway. Scully could hear the sound of car doors slamming and she was shocked. "They can't be here already? Could they?"

Maggie looked up. "There's no way they're here now."

Scully walked towards the door just as the doorbell rang. She peered through the peephole and then opened it, astonished. "Bill? Charles?"

Charles, Scully's youngest brother who was only slightly taller than herself smiled as he yanked her door open and gave her a big hug. "What's it been, three years?"

"It has," she smiled. "I missed you, Charles."

"I missed you too Big Sis," he said. "I can't wait to meet him."

Scully smiled a bright wide full wattage Scully smile. "He's showing and getting dressed."

"Did he get his ugly mug from you or Mulder?", he teased.

"Ha, ha!", she said, as he held her tightly in his arms. "I'm excited to see your grandchildren, Charlie."

"Little Abbie I swear is like a version of you!", he chuckled. "I'm a grandpa of four, can you believe it?"

Scully shook her head. "No. I can't."

Behind Charles was her oldest brother Bill. Scully was stunned at the similarities between Bill Jr. and their father Bill Sr. The more Bill aged the more he looked just like their father. Bill at well over 6 ft tall dwarfing even Mulder's height engulfed his tiny sister in his arms. "I missed you so much, Sis. We don't talk enough," he sighed. "And when we do its through mom."

"I know," Scully sighed. "I'm sorry. We need to do better."

"We do," he said, sincerely. "We're family, Dana."

She searched her brother's eyes and then smiled. "Come on in, don't mind us. We were just finishing breakfast."

"MOM!", both Charles and Bill said in passing her and entering into her home and spotting their mother.

Scully watched at tears trailed down Maggie's aged cheeks as she embraced her sons whom she rarely heard from or saw. They attempted to wipe her tears but she quickly recovered in front of them, storing her feelings away. Scully smiled at the faces she recognized, her nephews Junior and Patrick were now men, military men having become naval men like their father Charles and their Uncle Bill and their Grandfather Bill Sr, whom they barely remembered. She hugged both much taller men and were introduced to their wives and children all which had the Scully signature red hair. And then last but not least was Matthew. She couldn't believe her eyes as she saw a now young adult Matthew walk up to her, a baby in his arms. "This is my favorite Aunt Dana," he said to his wife, Amy.

Scully smiled and shook Amy's hand. She smiled at the baby he held so protectively in his arms. "She's gorgeous, Matthew. You've grown up to be such a responsible young man."

Matthew nodded. "My dad drilled it into my head everyday to work hard and be responsible," he said. "So where's Mulder?", he said.

"He's showering. He and William shoveled the walkway."

Matthew looked at her curiously. "Who's William?"

Scully looked shocked. "You don't know who William is, Mat?"

He shook his head no as his baby began to fuss. His mother, Tara along with Janet, Charles wife walked up behind the extremely young couple and snatched the baby from Matthew's arms and the baby immediately quieted.

"All these years, you're dad never told you, you had a cousin named William," Scully said, her eyes resting on Tara whose mouth began to gape open in an explanation but none was forthcoming.

"Nawl," Matthew said, confused. "My cousin from whom?", he said, looking from his mom to his aunt.

"Mulder and I had a son...his name is William," she said, with a reddened face.

"Congratulations Aunt Dana!", Matthew said, hugging her tightly. "Well now little Christine has a cousin she can play with..."

"No," Scully said, shaking her head. "He's not a baby," she sighed. "He's fourteen."

Matthew looked confused. "Fourteen? I don't understand..."

"Where's my wife?", Charles said, walking up to Scully. "You're not letting them in the door?", he said, jokingly to Scully.

Scully immediately hugged Tara and Janet. "I have to go get dressed", she said, heading for her bedroom. "Make yourself at home."

"Where's Mulder?", Janet asked as she slipped off her coat.

Scully felt like she needed to retreat. "I'll tell him everyone is here and they're looking for him."

Scully headed for the bedroom but stopped at Williams room. She knocked on the door and opened it. "William?"

"Some of them don't know that I exist," he said, having remotely picked up on the conversations of the guests in the living room.

William sat on his bed, staring out of his bedroom window at the frozen snowy view of the side of the house. "What was the purpose of them coming for a visit?"

"To meet you," she said, touching his shoulder. "And they will."

She could see he was extremely hurt by it all. "I'm so sorry, honey," she said. "Matthew was young at the time. Maybe it was your Uncle Bill's way of protecting him from explaining what happened."

William turned to look into his mother's exact blue eyes. She cocked her head to the side and ran her hand in circles across his back. "Adults do things and it may seem like it makes sense at the time but you can look back later and see your mistakes. I don't think Bill not telling Matthew about you was on purpose. As a matter of fact, I know it wasn't," she said, looking into his eyes. "I know my brother. And as hard as the big bad wolf Bill is sometimes, "she said. "He loves his family. ALL of his family."

"Even the half Fox William Mulder one with alien genetics that's more '_human than human_'. "

Scully smirked. "As long as you have Scully blood, then the answer to that is Yes."

William nodded.

"You ready to go out there?"

"Give me a minute," he said.

Scully looked into his eyes. "Well, I'm getting dressed. Don't forget we need to go shopping tonight. You still haven't told your dad and I what you wanted for Christmas."

William sighed. "Cash is all I want..."

Scully's eyebrow raised. "William Mulder I'm serious!"

"So am I!", he said.

Scully shook her head. "Anyway...You can't hide out in this room all day, William. Be prepared to meet the family," she said, before walking out of his door.

William plopped down on his bed. "Great, just great!:, he sighed. "Just what I wanted it. "

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	4. Chapter 4

**Christmas 2013**

**The Family Meets William**

**Part 4**

**by Trycee**

**Time-Line: Christmas 2013**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

Mulder knocked on his son's door and William nervously walked out. Mulder could see that despite him having fought against Aliens just a year before he was just a boy and he needed his parents support. He was scared and so Mulder placed his hand on the back of his neck and walked with him down the hall behind Scully who was leading the way.

They could hear the chatter before they reached the living room. Scully stopped and smiled. She turned and looked back in of her and opened her arms. William walked into her arms. "Everyone this is our son, William," she said, proudly as Mulder stood behind him.

Maggie used her camera to snap a photo of the small family before everyone jumped up to hug and shake Williams hand. Charles grabbed William and hugged him tightly. "OMG, you look like my sister!", he said, looking him over. "Wow, Dana. He looks so much like you but yet he looks like you Mulder!", he said, looking up at the taller man.

Mulder beamed. William could read his Uncle's thoughts and he knew that he was being sincere. Tara and Janet both hugged him tightly as they hugged both Scully and Mulder as well. Matthew shook Williams hand. "I'm your cousin Matthew."

William smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you!", Matthew said, as he tried to come to grips with the young man standing before him.

After everyone had welcomed William into the family, a path was cleared and Bill stood waiting. He held out his hand and shook the teenagers hand and then grabbed him up in a large hug much to Williams and Mulder's surprise. William tapped into Bill's mind, it was full of all the anguish and disappointment and worry throughout the years over his sister Dana and there was an overwhelming amount of anger at her decisions especially at giving him up for adotion to the Van Dekamp's. William could see that Bill's feelings for him were genuine but that quickly changed when Bill's eyes focused on Mulder. William could pick up on the pure disdain that he had for his father. He could feel it wash over him and William stepped back. He looked at his Uncle Bill and then at his dad and both men were eying each other but neither said a word. Finally Mulder nodded in Bill's direction and Bill nodded back and William could feel his Uncle's hatred for his father retreat in the recesses of his mind.

Maggie touched Williams arm. "I've been so spoiled, I've had William and Dana and Fox all to myself for awhile now," she said. "This is a great treat for me," she smiled brightly. "Seeing my little boys with not only their sons but their grandchildren."

Both Bill and Charles smiled at their mother.

Maggie held William tightly. "We've been so blessed," she said. "God has blessed us so much with the expansion of our family. But to also see Dana and Fox's son returned to them," she said, turning to look at both Mulder and Scully, who were wrapped in eachother's arms watching with a mixture of amusement and cautiousness at the interaction of their son with their family members.

Everyone turned to look at Mulder and Scully and Mulder pulled Scully tighter to his side, affirming that they indeed loved each other.

"I am so proud of this young man right here," Maggie continued. "He's such a good son to his parents but I am so proud also of his parents," she said, turning to look back at Mulder and Scully. "Fox and Dana are doing an excellent job with raising him. I'm just so happy that our family is complete again!"

William looked at all the people staring at him with all their thoughts flooding into his mind and it was overwhelming. He squeezed his grandmother's hand, letting her know that he wasn't being disrespectful but he just needed to get away, and so he headed towards the front porch, stepping out into the crisp winter air.

The chatter again continued as the family caught up with each other. William pulled out his I-Phone and placed his headphones in his ears trying to block out the flood of emotions and thoughts from each person that was overwhelming him as well as his own emotions. They were his relatives yet he felt no connection to them whatsoever and he was feeling guilty about it. He felt connected to his grandmother Maggie and to his parents but the others were as foreign to him as the Aliens. He knew that it was because he hadn't grown up with them but as he had stood next to his grandmother when she had spoken, tapping into their thoughts, he felt even less connected to them. The front door opened and Matthew walked out on to the porch. He hesitated as he approached William. "Hey little man," he said.

"Little man?", William said, looking at him. "You're not that much older than me."

Matthew chuckled. "A bit more."

"Not by much," William said.

"Okay," Matthew sighed. "You okay?"

"I'm good," William said. "I needed to message my girlfriend."

"Oh yeah? What's her name?"

"What's it to you?", William said.

Matthew was surprised. "Look, did I do something to make you upset?"

William shook his head no.

Matthew sat on the porch railing and stared down at his younger cousin. "Hey, I guess it must be hard to have all these people staring at you, huh?"

William nodded. "It is. You didn't even know I existed until today."

"Your mom told you, huh," Matthew sighed. "Look, it wasn't my fault," he said. "My dad I guess didn't want to explain why I had a baby cousin one minute and then the next he was gone. So, he just didn't say anything to me. I used to hear them talking about William but I didn't peace it together. I would kind of block out what they said, ya know. "

William tapped into Matthew's memories and could see a younger Matthew seated at family gatherings lost in his own thoughts as the adult talked around him. He was the youngest child in the room and most of the conversation were aimed at adults and he would be lost in a world of his own making. "Yeah, I know."

"Look, even though I didn't know about you until today, I'm glad to know about you now," Matthew said with a smile. "It's nice to have a younger cousin."

William nodded. "Thanks."

"So what do you like to do?"

"There's not much to do out here," William said, pointing to the large expanse of land around them. "But in school, I play basketball."

"That's pretty cool. I used to play myself."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Matthew said. "I grew faster than my body could handle and so I was clumsy for several years but I played on a team when I finally caught up to my height."

Matthew stood at 6 ft 2 ft tall. "I'd love to play you some day."

"We could play right now, if you want," William said.

"Sure, let's get some coats though," Matthew said. "My wife would kill me and something tells me that Aunt Dana would kill you too."

William smirked. Just then the door flew open. "William Mulder, get a coat on right now!", Scully said with a hand on her hip.

William smiled and shook his head.

Matthew threw up his hands in surrender. "Aunt Dana, I swear we were coming in to grab some coats."

Scully's features softened when she saw Matthew. "Matt, so what are ya'll doing?"

"About to play basketball."

She smiled understanding that William needed this connection to a family member. "We'll be leaving in about an hour to drive into town and eat a restaurant and then go shopping."

William moved past her to grab his coat.

"Do me a favor if you can, Matt."

"Anything for you, Aunt Dana."

She smiled even brighter. "See if you can find out what he wants for Christmas."

Matthew looked surprised. "He hasn't told you."

"He just says cash."

"Cash is nice," Matthew said.

"I know but I have a feeling that he's just saying that," Scully said. "Something tells me he is holding back."

"Okay, I'll try," Matthew said.

"Thanks," she said, touching his arm.

"He's a nice kid,"he said.

"Thank you," she smiled.

She return to the living room full of family members with toddlers racing around the legs of adults and her mother Maggie laughing heartily as Bill told her a joke as they sipped on a glass of wine, recalling a story about her father. She heard the door slam close and she knew both William and Matthew had retreated outside to play in the freezing cold against the side of house on a salted pathway in the snow sinking baskets in a frozen over metal basketball hoop . Charles and Janet played with their grandchildren as both brothers Junior and Patrick along with Mulder watched the commentary on Sports Center. Tara was busy in Scully's kitchen whipping up a dessert to go with the cookies Maggie and Scully had made as Scully sank down on the couch, her heart filled with joy. Mulder looked over to Scully from across the room and their eyes locked and he stood up and grabbed her hand, pulling her up with him into his office, closing his door. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her lips. "You look so happy, Scully, I couldn't help but kiss you and I didn't want an audience."

"Good idea," she sighed.

"How's William taking everything?

"He and Matt are playing basketball together bonding."

Mulder pulled her closer. He was inches away from her lips and he covered her mouth with his, sinking his tongue into hers. She responded back and pulled him tightly against her. "Mulder...stop before we go too far."

"Okay," he said, breathing heavily and backing away from her.

His face was flushed as well as Scully's as they stared at each other. Soon their breathing normalized and they opted instead to simply hold hands. "We better get back out there before they know what we were doing."

They returned, walking hand in hand and sitting down together. Scully tucked her head into Mulder's shoulder. Suddenly, the door flew open and William rushed in. "Matthew is hurt! He slipped on the ice and he won't get up!"

Scully was the first to reach him. Bill Sr., Charles, Mulder raced out of the door with the rest of the family following behind. Scully touched her nephews face and opened his eyes noticing he was alert. "Can you hear me Matt?"

"Yeah, I just fell. I hit my head but I can't really get up. I can't feel anything. I think I'm just frozen."

"We better call the ambulance," Scully said. "Take him to my hospital."

"What's wrong with him?", Bill said hysterically.

"Bill, we'll have to wait and see," Scully said, trying not to guess. "It's best with head injuries that he lay in place until the ambulance removes him."

"The hospital is what an hour away?", Bill said, panicking. "OH My God, Dana... My boy...", he said, as tears trailed down his face as he knelt down next to his son in the snow. "Dana, my god...WHY THE HELL DO YOU LIVE SO FAR OUT IN THE BOONIES?", he said, covering his face, as his son lay unmoving on the ice.

William stood next to them. "Move out of the way," he said, to his uncle.

"WHAT?", Bill said. "What do you mean move?", he said. "My boy! My son...", he cried.

William looked at Bill and then Matthew and reached out his hands and spread them out wide. A bolt of electricity shot from Williams hands into Matthew's body and he sat up able to move again. Bill Scully with a look of horror turned and looked at William. "What in the hell is he?", he said, backing away from him. "What the hell just happened?"

"Bill," Dana said. "Bill, William is special."

Bill shook his head no. Tara who'd been crying tried to stop Bill but he continued to back away from William, he was in shock retreating and utter _FREAK, _under his breathe. The rest of the family continued to stare at him. Matthew with assistance stood up. "Wow, that was some fall. I was really hurt."

"You were paralyzed," Dana said, as she looked up at her nephew. "But William saved you."

Mulder had wrapped his arms around his son's shoulders, holding him protectively in place. Maggie too had come up to him trying to comfort him. The rest of the family looked shocked as they turned to head back towards the house. Scully looked at her son knowing his feelings were hurt. She could feel the rawness of his pain and it was ripping her heart out. She motioned for Mulder to switch places with her and help Matthew back to the house so she could comfort William. The moment she wrapped William in her arms, he erupted into tears, burying his head into her neck, as Maggie rubbed his head, gently. "Don't cry my baby," she said. "You did what was right. You are blessed, William. You know that."

"I'm a freak," he cried.

"You saved your cousin from a life in a wheel-chair, William," she said, rubbing his neck and back. "You are gifted son. Please know that. Your Uncle Bill is just emotional right now. Give him some time. Give him some space."

"He didn't mean it," Maggie said. "He was just scared."

"No!", William said. "He meant it."

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	5. Chapter 5

**Christmas 2013**

**The Family Meets William**

**Part 5**

**by Trycee**

**Time-Line: Christmas 2013**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

"Keep that THING away from me!", Bill screamed, staring at William.

Mulder's fist tightened and he suddenly grabbed the much taller man whom he'd spent years being afraid of by the throat, slamming him against the wall. "That THING is MY SON!", he screamed.

"OH GOD!", Maggie said, distressed.

"Everyone calm down," Tara said, trying to defuse the situation.

Mulder let his brother-n-law go and Bill grabbed at his neck, surprised that Mulder could hurt him.

"How could you say that!", Scully said, her face reddened and her arms were crossed in front of her as she stared at her much taller brother. "How could you call him a freak when if it weren't for William, Matthew would be on his way to my hospital, "she said, pointing, "And would be in a wheel chair because what I couldn't say at the time, Bill... was that Matthew was paralyzed at that moment."

"OMG," Tara said, sinking to the couch, as her sister-n-law Janet tried to comfort her.

"You are in our home and you say that about our son!", she fumed.

"Back off Dana!", Bill said, feeling cornered. "Just leave me alone!"

"Dad, I'm okay," Matthew said, as Amy cried into his shoulder, gripping him tightly. "The kid really fixed me. Whatever he did, I'm fine now."

Charles looked at his son's who were standing around ready to break up the next fight if needed be. He tapped them both on the arms, letting them know to calm down. "Bill," he said, addressing his brother. "Matthew is fine now. Can't we just be grateful for that?"

Bill nodded but then shook his head back and forth. The doctor in Scully recognized that her brother was in shock. "Bill, you're in shock, sit down and let me help you."

"NO," he said, shaking his head.

Mulder walked up to Scully, his eyes still glued to Bill. He touched her hands and she looked at him, seeing his intense anger. She reached up and ran her fingers across his cheek. With her eyes she begged him to calm down. Mulder broke their eye contact briefly to look down at the floor but when he looked back into her soulful blue eyes he knew without her speaking a word that she wanted him to go and comfort their son. He bent down and kissed her on her soft ruby lips and then turned and moved past the other family members who quickly moved out of Mulder's way, including Junior and Patrick who disliked him. He knocked on Williams door and found him blasting music into his ears at a high volume. Mulder removed the headphones and sat on the side of Williams bed. He could see that William was angry, very angry. With a swipe of Williams hand, moving images of his adoptive parents, the Van Dekamps appeared on the ceiling wall of his bedroom like an old reel projector. Mulder watched the projection play out as Williams memories flooded him.

"You miss them don't you?"

William wiped his face. "Sometimes," he said, as his voice cracked. "I knew they weren't my parents," he said, locking eyes with Mulder. "I knew who my parents were. I knew that from the beginning. I knew the minute you held me for the first time you were my father," he said. "And when mom held me I was connected to her in a way I can't describe. It kept me connected to you both while I was with them," he said, looking back up at the ceiling watching the memory of the deceased Van Dekamps. "But the rest of the time..."

"They were mom and dad," Mulder said. "I understand, son. I get it."

William wiped another tear. "I didn't have to fit in," he said. "I didn't have some big angry man hating me," he said, as his face reddened and he tried desperately to control his tears.

"You're not a freak, William. You're the best thing that ever happened to your mom and me. You made us a family. Your mom and I loved each other so much it was overwhelming and as you already know it took us a long time to...," Mulder paused. "Consummate our relationship."

William grimaced but recovered quickly.

"You were what we both wanted so badly especially your mom because she was told that she'd never get to have kids. And for me, if she couldn't have kids then I was done too because I only wanted them with her."

William listened intently.

"So you were our miracle child, son. But, they had exposed me to the Black oil and they had abducted your mom and did horrible things to her ovaries. So, whatever they did exposed us to alien technology that resulted in you, a very special human. A human that just so happened to save not only your cousin from being in the wheel chair but you saved every man, woman and child on this planet just last year. Now, it doesn't matter what some close-minded pea brain man like your Uncle Bill thinks, now does it? He's just jealous he can't get his foot out of his ass!"

William chuckled a small low smile.

"I think he'd rather has his son able to function than unable, right?"

"Right," William added.

He patted him on the leg. "It's that Irish temper of your uncles and your mom. Give him time to realize he was wrong, alright?"

William nodded. "I will."

"Come on. I'm sure you're starving, right?"

William nodded. "Do I really have to go with those people?"

Mulder looked at his son. "You know, I would often have to face down people that hated me."

"Yeah?", William said.

"Oh yeah!", Mulder answered. "I actually enjoyed it," he smirked. "I thrived on it. It would make me work harder and I also enjoyed the way it made your mother get angry," he said with a chuckle.

William rolled his eyes and tried to block the images of his parents trading banter and innuendos in a basement office in the FBI.

"I never let others' words get me down for the most part," Mulder said. "I used it as fuel to propel me further. Don't let anyone put you down."

"Okay," William said.

William followed his father back out into the hallway. Scully looked up and saw William and both she and Maggie watched him as he approached the rest of the family. Tara walked up to William and rubbed his arm. "Thank You, however it happened, for saving my boy."

William smiled. "I did nothing," he said modestly.

"Well," Maggie said. "I think we need to pack up the cars and head into town."

William could feel the stares upon him but he could feel Mulder's weighted hand on his back and feel his mother's comforting gaze and he knew he would be alright. Everyone put on their coats and headed for the cars. Scully glanced at Mulder needing comfort of her own and he placed his hand on his spot and smoothed his hand over her hair. They locked up the house and William sat in the back of the car, putting his headphones on, trying to block out all around him. There were several messages from Ann who was a sophomore whom he'd been texting. He stared at the messages but didn't respond. Scully turned back, watching him before he noticed her. She reached out her small hand and slid it into his. No words were spoken as they continued on towards the restaurant.

The restaurant was full of holiday shoppers but they were cordoned off in a private room, set up at a large rectangular table. Bill continued shooting dirty looks in Williams direction but he ignore his Uncle. Finally Bill blurted out. "Are we gonna sit and pretend or are we gonna talk about it?"

William shook his head, amazed at Bill's timing.

"Talk about what?", William asked. "About your fear of me?"

Bill shook his head and laughed hysterically. "I'm NOT afraid of you!"

"Yes, you are!", William said.

"Dad," Matthew said, looking at Bill. "He saved my life," he said, looking at his small family and then back at his father.

"Bill!", Charles said. "What is wrong with you? Let it go!"

William slammed his hand down on the table much to everyone's surprise. "I'm getting tired of this!"

"Let me handle it," Scully said, trying to calm William down. "Bill, our son is special. He has a gift...a great gift that is meant to help heal others and whether you understand it or not, it exists."

"All the years you messed around with _**HIM**_,"he said, glaring at Mulder with disdain. "And you ended up with one of those aliens you were searching for!"

"BILL!", Maggie said, shocked.

"Bill Scully!", Scully said. "This is OUR child you're talking about. Your nephew!"

William stood up and looked at his Uncle Bill. "You're afraid of believing," William said. "You're afraid that if you accept what I can do then you'll be no different than my dad, believing in the impossible."

Bill stared down at his plate, speechless. William sat back down and placed his headphones back into his ear, turning up the volume. All eyes were on Bill and he sighed. "Look, I know I'm being a complete asshole!"

"You think?", Tara said.

He shot a look at his wife Tara. "Look I shouldnt've said that. The kid is right."

"The kid?", Mulder said, his fist and jaw tight as he glared at Bill.

Scully too sat beside him and stared at her brother in anger. Her face was taut and her eyes glared with pure hostility towards her older brother.

Bill sighed. "I've been the big bad brother for many years," he said, looking at Charles and then Scully. "Look, I freaked out," he said, brushing through his whiting red hair. "I'm a grandfather now and I need to stop being a bully."

"You need to apologize to my son!", Mulder said.

Scully touched Williams cheek and he looked up. He snatched off his headphones and looked into the matching blue eyes of his mother. "Yeah?", he said.

"You need to be able to hear," she said.

William turned his attention towards his Uncle Bill. Bill sighed. "Look, William, I'm sorry," he said, feeling ashamed. "I really shouldnt've said what I said to you. You didn't have to save Matt and yet you did, so thank you and forgive me for what I've said."

William searched Bill's thoughts and could tell he was conflicted. Bill was a complicated man, one William couldn't quite figure out at the moment. Without answering him, William placed his headphones back on and blasted the song Radioactive into his ears until he could hear nothing else. William could see himself back on the farm with the Van Dekamps as a little boy playing in the vast fields with the smell of fresh linen wafting in the air but instead of the farm scene around him, he was focused on the cries of a woman miles away in Virginia that he could hear in his mind and could feel in his soul. William looked up at his mother who rubbed his cheek and he smiled, remembering his desire to find his parents. Scully smiled back, placing a small hand on top of his. William could feel the love from his mother and it was overwhelming.

"We're going to have a good Christmas, William," he could hear her saying. "Despite everything, we're going to have a good Christmas, I promise. This will be the best Christmas we've ever had, I promise."

William looked at his mother and father and they're eyes were full of love for him. He looked over to his Uncle who looked thoroughly embarrassed and then to Matthew who was holding his baby in his arms and William felt a sense of pride in his abilities. For the first time since they'd arrived at the restaurant, he picked up his fork and began to eat, much to Scully's relief.

Maggie felt grateful that her family was calm at least for now.

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	6. Chapter 6

**Christmas 2013**

**The Family Meets William**

**Part 6**

**by Trycee**

**Time-Line: Christmas 2013**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

Scully could feel Mulder's hefty arms draw her in. She smiled and repositioned her pillow under her head as he moved her long hair out of his way and kissed his way up her neck to her cheekbone. She was gleaming enjoying each and every kiss and attention Mulder was giving her. "Is this my Christmas Eve gift?", she asked.

"MMMMmmmm," he said, sliding in next to her. "You're turning me on."

"Mulder," she said, as her eyes closed as he began to kiss his way down her shoulder. "We have a house full of guests."

"I don't care," Mulder said, as he continued on. "This is my present."

Scully turned over in the bed and her lips met his and they began to kiss heartily. They made passionate love before falling asleep once again for several more hours. There was a knock on the bedroom door which surprised them both. "Who is it?", Mulder said, groggily, glancing at the clock which read 8:58 a.m.

"Mom and Dad...Grandma, Uncle Bill, Matthew and the rest are here," William announced.

"Tell them we're getting dressed," Scully said, rising slowly. "We'll be out soon."

They listened until they were sure William was gone.

"I can't hardly move," Scully smirked. "The last thing I wanna do is deal with the family right now."

"What are we doing today anyway?", Mulder questioned.

"Wrapping gifts and putting it under the tree, cooking while you men sit around and do nothing," she said, shooting a look at him.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I have some work to do in my office. It'll be better than dealing with Bill."

"I think he feels really bad about everything, Mulder. I think he was embarrassed at how he acted in front of his grandchild and how he treated OUR child."

"I don't think he'll ever change, Scully." Mulder said, shaking his head. "Every time I'm around him it just makes me hate him even more."

She reached out and gripped his hand. "I think between you and William, Bill was put in his place."

Mulder cocked his head and looked at her lovingly without saying a word and kissed her ruby lips.

"Come on, Spooky," she smiled. "It's Christmas Eve and there's a house full of guests. We don't want them to think we'd just had sex, do you?"

Mulder erupted into laughter. "Scully, Scully...", he smiled.

"Let's share a shower," she said, grabbing his hand and urging him on.

Maggie and her daughter-in-law's Janet and Amy and their daughter-n-laws were all crowded in Scully's kitchen cooking a late breakfast much to her surprise. They were busy chatting and singing Christmas carols in a world all to themselves. Mulder squeezed Scully's arm and they separated. Mulder waved as he passed by all of Scully's relatives including the littlest ones that ran up to his legs and stopped him in his tracks. Mulder smiled down to them but he was searching for his own child through the swarm of people. He saw Bill Mulder and his eyes locked onto to Mulder's but he looked down, still ashamed of his actions as Matthew, Junior and Patrick watched TV in the living room and so Mulder continued on to his office where he was surprised to see William seated on the floor, glued into his phone, texting back and forth.

"Hiding out?", Mulder questioned.

"So are you," William said.

Mulder placed his hands on his hips and looked at him curiously. "It's Christmas Eve and despite what happened, this is your family and this is just one of many holidays we'll have to endure with them," he said, plopping down in his chair.

"I could erase it all," William said. "Turn back the clock and make it just you, me and Mom...and Grandma. That's the way I'd like to be spending this time," he said, honestly.

"When I was a kid. My sister Samantha," Mulder said, pointing to the photo of his sister on his door. "Would bug me so much that I would wish I didn't have to share presents with her. I'd tell her that Santa Claus was gonna skip over our house just because of her," Mulder said, with a chuckle. "My mom would spend the holiday's telling us to be proper and stay clean and to act a certain way. She'd take us to her Protestant church while my dad would fuss that we were Jewish and she would counter that Jews were recognized through the mother," he sighed. "And my dad would say we were Jewish anyway. They'd spend the entire holiday fighting about what religion we would celebrate while Samantha and I would try to stay out of their way. "

William shook his head. "The Van Dekamp's would spend it in church. We'd wake up and dress and go to church and then we'd come home and open the presents. I got four presents every year. They believed in being frugal and modest. It was usually a new baseball or glove and always a new pair of boots and a new coat," he remembered fondly. "Oh and Christmas Eve, I always got a pair of new Christmas pajamas."

Mulder looked down at his son. "Sounds like those are good memories," he said. "You don't talk about them much."

"It's the past. I don't want to forget them but they weren't you and Mom. They were nice but I knew who I was. That's the advantage of being me...of being special. I was born with an ability to see beyond and even when Jeffrey Spender, your half brother..."

Mulder looked shocked that William knew who that was.

"Gave me that shot, he thought he stopped my powers but it didn't stop me. It only delayed it for awhile and taught me to hide it."

Mulder nodded. "What else do you remember about Christmas with the Van DeKamp's?"

William thought back. "I remember the stockings were full of candy and oranges and apples. I used to go straight for the stocking," William laughed.

Mulder nodded, remembering everything William was telling him.

"There's not a day that went by that your mom and I didn't think about you and want you home."

"I know," William said, annoyed. "You tell me all the time. I love you too."

Mulder smiled. "So tell me about this girl you keep messaging."

William covered his face and then uncovered it. "Okay, okay. Her name is Ann and she's a sophomore."

"Oooh, an older girl," Mulder said, raising his eyebrows.

"She wants me to hang out with her today."

"On Christmas Eve?"

"I could escape this place with all the stares!", William said. "Please, Dad," he said, with a puppy dog look that made Mulder chuckle. He'd seen that look before.

"Where would you go around here? On Christmas Eve?"

William looked deflated.

"Let me talk to your mom," Mulder said. "Let me see what she says, alright?"

"Okay."

Mulder stood up and opened the door to his office with William on his tail. He navigated past the relatives and stopped in front of the table filled with food.

"There you are!", Tara smiled. "Come sit down!", she said to them both.

Mulder motioned for William to be seated but he pulled Scully aside. "I know what he wants for Christmas."

She looked at him searching his eyes. "Tell me."

"He wants to go out on a date with this girl named Ann...but that's only part of it."

"Yeah," she said, patiently waiting for Mulder to fill her in.

"The Van DeKamps...They'd give him new pajamas every Christmas eve and they'd fill his Christmas stocking with candy and fruit and that was what he'd go for first."

"Not games or Cd's but fruit and candy," she said, disbelieving.

"And they'd only buy him four gifts."

"Well, we have way more than that for him."

"It's not about the amount, Scully, it's the ritual," Mulder said. "I think if we continue the same ritual, that's what matters to him. He lost that when the Van Dekamp's died. And though he loves us dearly, he doesn't expect us to continue it and I think that made him sad. I think that's why he said he just wanted cash. "

"So what do we do? I mean, we have a house full of family," she said, looking past Mulder to the family that were quickly devouring the breakfast.

"I'll chaperone," he said. "Pick up the girl and drive them both to town...to the mall and while they're there, I'll do a little shopping, pick up some new pj's for him for tonight."

"I'll take care of the rest," she said.

"Okay," he said. "Let's get back before there's nothing left for us to eat," he said, grabbing her hand and leading her back to the table.

Mulder sat next to Scully. She reached out and touched Williams hand. His plate was empty, he was done eating and had just finished drinking the last of his orange juice.

"Her name is Ann?", Scully asked.

"Yeah," he said, his blue eyes searching hers. "Can we go to the movies and to the mall?", he said, giving her the same puppy dog look he'd given Mulder, which mirrored Mulder's puppy dog look to her.

He could see the wheels turning in her mind. "She's a sophomore? Is she cute?"

William looked up to see Matthew smiling in his direction, listening in on their conversation. "Seriously, little cuz, is she cute?", Matthew teased.

William blushed bright red, matching his reddish hair. "Yes, she's cute."

Scully smiled warmly at William and then looked back at Mulder who was filling his plate quickly. He then began to fill her plate too before there was nothing left. "Thanks honey," she said.

They both kissed quickly before she turned her attention back to William. "You and you're dad are gonna pick her up, then he's gonna drop you off at the mall so you can see a movie and eat, alright?"

William smiled widely just like his mother. "Thank You," he said, kissing her on the cheek before whipping out his phone and texing Ann.

"Did you say you were going to the mall?", Junior asked.

Mulder looked up at Scully's Naval nephew. "Yeah," he said, cautiously.

Junior looked over at his brother Patrick and then back at Mulder. "We'll follow you into town."

Mulder locked eyes with Bill Scully for a moment but Bill darted his eyes away. Mulder could see that Margaret Scully was keeping a watchful eye on her eldest son as did his wife, Tara. He stayed quiet listening, sipping on coffee as everyone made plans for the day.

William jumped up from the table. "I've got to get showered and dressed. I've gotta look good. I'll be right back."

"Is this what all the teens do?", Maggie questioned. "Hang out at the mall on Christmas Eve?"

William shrugged his shoulders. "I guess so," he said, smiling as he headed towards his bedroom.

"Will you be back in time for dinner tonight?", Maggie questioned.

Mulder nodded. "I'll make sure."

Scully smirked and turned to her nephews. "Make sure they're here on time."

"HEY!", Mulder said, feigning offense.

Scully looked at Mulder, remembering all the times he'd been late to meetings and other events throughout the years and she again turned to her nephews. "Like I said, make sure they're here on time or not only will you're grandmother kill you, but I will. "

"Sure, no problem, Aunt Dana," they said.

"We're having egg nog, singing Christmas carols and having the cookies that me and Dana made along with the homemade ice cream that Tara made tonight. And then we're all going to Mass tonight."

"Alright!", Mulder said, rising. "I'll get the kid and if everyone is ready that's going, we'll head out."

Scully stood up and began gathering plates along with her mother. Mulder put on his coat and then walked up to Scully. "All this talk about Williams Christmas, don't think I've forgotten you at Christmas."

Scully cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "So, that means that you forgot me at Christmas, doesn't it?"

He leaned in closer to her ear. "What did you call this morning?"

"MULDER!", she said. "I want a real gift. Now, don't be late."

"I won't," he smiled.

William walked out, dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, ready for his date. Mulder nodded his approval. "We'll be back."

"Okay," Scully sighed.

**Please Leave Feedback: Thanks!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Christmas 2013**

**The Family Meets William**

**Part 7**

**by Trycee**

**Time-Line: Christmas 2013**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

Mulder was careful driving through the large mass of snow and ice to pull up alongside of Williams friend Ann's home. William was nervous but Mulder patted him on the back. "Go get her!", he said.

William sighed and stepped out and headed up for the door. He returned a few moments later with a girl with short black hair who was dressed in a pink coat with white fur around the trim. Mulder waited while they piled into the back. Mulder glanced into the rear view mirror and saw William shyly sitting next to Ann. Mulder turned on his blinkers signaling to Junior, Patrick, Matthew and their wives and children crowded into one car following behind him.

After dropping off William, Mulder headed for the local department store in search of gifts. After buying William's pajamas, a pair that he himself would have liked as a young man, a silk pair of red pajamas, he continued on in search of a gift for Scully. Mulder was usually off-target when it came to buying gifts for Scully and he could always see it in her eyes and hear it in the wise-crack comment she would make afterwards and so he would often put off buying her a gift until the very last minute which put even more pressure on him. With a gift wrapped package in a store bag in one hand, he paced around the department store, searching out the perfect gift. His eyes settled on lingerie but he had to shake that image out of his head. He needed a gift Scully could open in FRONT of her family and so he continued on, searching in the Women's aisles, until someone finally spotted him and asked if he needed help.

Mulder looked at the woman's badge. "Mary," he smiled. "I need something nice for her."

Mary noticed Mulder's nervousness and despite the numerous customers who were all shopping last minute on Christmas Eve as well, she decided he needed her help the most. "What does she like?"

Mulder smiled. "Sweet smelling stuff. She loves to take baths," he said, feeling anxious.

"Why not a new robe, slippers, and some bath oils kind of like a spa bath, We could even put it together in a gift basket for her."

"That's perfect."

With the house emptied of most of the relatives, Scully could concentrate on the ones around her. She chuckled as she watched her mother and Janet play cards as Tara kissed her granddaughter having given Matthew and Amy a break as they shopped at the mall. "I just love this little one," Tara smiled. "Bill and I were shocked when Matt and Amy got pregnant so early," she sighed. "I mean, they are so young but look at her. You can't help but be so happy about it all," she smiled.

Scully glanced over at her brother who was seated on the sofa alone sipping on his coffee as he stared out into the snow covered open field as the television watched itself. Scully excused herself from the table but was stopped by her mom. "You going to talk to him?"

She gazed down at her mom who was the same height as herself. "Yeah. I think it's time."

"Okay," Maggie nodded. "I'm glad. We don't need to bring in Christmas with hard feelings."

Scully touched her mother's cheek and then sat next to Bill. He was surprised and looked at her. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," she returned.

"I'm just looking at your view."

She nodded. "We like it out here. It's peaceful, secluded and the nearest neighbor is just behind us but still not close enough. It suits us after the life we've lead."

Bill looked at his sister. "I don't know much about the life you've lead."

Scully dropped her head down and then gazed up into her brother's blue eyes. "Mulder and I were always on the run, Bill. Always being chased after, always in danger...and it was our jobs, and we did it well, but it came with risks," she said, linking back to her X-File days. "I learned to stand on my own two feet with that job, Bill. I learned that I was strong and that I could take care of myself."

"Of course you could!", he said, looking surprised.

"No, I don't think you understand," she said, shaking her head. "I was always Starbuck to Ahab and I was always searching for another Ahab. Being an FBI Agent taught me to be strong and I was in ways I can't even explain. I didn't fall in love with someone because they were powerful," she said, looking at her brother. "I feel in love with Mulder because he loved me unconditionally for who I was," she said, as tears rolled down her cheeks. "And he never asked me to be someone else. Not only that but he was willing to wait..."

"Dana, you don't have to explain all this..."

"Bill!", she said, wiping her tears. "I need you to understand!", she said, searching his eyes for understanding.

Bill breathed deeply. "Okay."

"I love Mulder with my entire soul and he loves me back, Bill. That will never change, whether we get married or not, we are partners for life so it really doesn't matter..."

"In the eyes of..."

"We already are!", she said, cutting him off.

Bill took a sip of his coffee. "Alright...", he sighed.

"And our son is special," she said. "Because both Mulder and I were experimented on against our will."

Bill stared at her but saw she was unflinching. "Explain..."

"They tampered with my ovaries, Bill. You know this from..."

"Emily," he said, glancing down. "I never really understood that whole thing with her. It took me a long time to realize that she was your daughter but I did come to terms with it," he said.

Scully stared at her hands. "They also injected a virus into Mulder and so our son was born extraordinary. That's why people wanted to kill him," she said.

Bill looked surprised. "Kill him?"

"They tried killing him, they kidnapped him...ask mom, she was there. And this is after they said they would kill Mulder or William if he didn't leave right after William was born," she said, again wiping her tears. "I gave William up because they were coming after him. Ask mom, they knocked her down and a man tried to smother him in his crib!"

Bill looked sick to his stomach. "Dana, I had no idea."

"I know because I told Mom not to say anything. It killed her too for me to give up William and I was devastated. Mulder and I had wanted him for so long,"she said, wiping her cheek. "And then when Mulder came back, he didn't know that William was gone and I thought he'd never love me again...but he did. He understood, Bill. How many men do you know would feel that way?"

His face contorted and then he sighed."Not many."

"No, they wouldn't," she sighed. "They were trying him illegally in an illegal court proceeding. I had evidence showing that Mulder hadn't killed anyone and that the body they'd claimed to be the man he killed was actually a decoy and they wouldn't hear it. They found him guilty anyway and sentenced him to death! So, me and some friends and even a few of our superiors, one of which paid with his life, broke Mulder out of this illegal prison and we fled together. And I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I had too!"

Bill sighed and nodded. "I understand now, Dana. Although, you took the long route," he joked.

Scully, with a reddened face began to laugh alongside her brother. "Look Dana, I never knew what all you went through. I guess I didn't make it any easier, did I, all these years?"

Scully placed her hand in her brother's hand. "Just be nicer to both Mulder and William. Actually, I demand that you be nicer to William especially."

Bill squeezed her hand. "I'm truly sorry about all that. You'd think by now with me being a grandfather I would've learned to control my temper by now."

"It's that old Irish temper," she smiled. "Get's us in trouble every time."

Bill chuckled. "Well, I can still hate your Christmas Tree Topper, can't I? I mean, it's a spinning UFO, for Christ-sakes! Where's the Christmas star or a ribbon or even a Santa Claus?"

Scully rolled her eyes, playfully. "I was waiting for you to say something about the tree."

Bill smiled. "It's got UFO ornaments. Where did you find UFO ornaments?", he chuckled.

Mulder waited outside the Mall for William and Ann to finish their date. Patrick and Junior pulled up along side him. "Hey Mulder, you're on time!"

Mulder smiled though he wanted desperately to make a wise-crack, he knew that it would get him no where but in the doghouse on Christmas Eve and so he just smiled and waited for his son.

William and Ann chatted excitedly all the way to her home and when William walked her to her door, Mulder watched as William kissed her at the front door. Mulder looked away and waited until he opened the front door and sat down, with his eyes looking glossy. Mulder nodded that he understood the feeling and pulled off. After driving back from town, Mulder slipped William's new gift under the tree and then added his gift for Scully in the back where she wouldn't see it. Maggie who always took over Scully's kitchen whenever she was in there had gathered Scully and Janet as Tara watched the baby and whipped up enough for a large family. After dinner, they readied themselves for Mass, which meant driving back an hour into town. They returned and Maggie insisted that everyone sing Christmas carols though only a few wanted to participate. Maggie then pulled out the Christmas cookies and homemade ice-cream and the family went crazy, enjoying bowls of the dessert.

Scully handed Mulder a bowl and smiled at him. "What did you get me Mulder? And it better be something decent, not anything embarrassing or private!"

Mulder grabbed the bowl from her hands and then slid his arm around her waist drawing her close to him. "I was so tempted," he whispered. "I think I'm gonna order some beautiful nighties to be delivered for us to open when no one is around," he said, with a deep sultry voice.

Scully ran her fingers against his chin, feeling the slight hairs that were springing up beneath her touch. "Privately is fine, just not in front of them!"

"I promise!', he said.

Scully dipped her finger into his ice-cream and Mulder attempted to lick it off but she quickly placed it in her own mouth, smiling widely. "Got you!"

Mulder smiled and surprised her by sucking on her neck in front of her family who were watching their public display of affection.

"MOM! DAD!", William said, embarrassed. "It's bad enough you do this when its just me!"

The entire family erupted into laughter and Matthew tousled William's auburn locks. He smiled feeling apart of the family for the first time. Scully scooted off of Mulder's lap, her face reddened as she made her way to grab her own bowl of dessert and returned to sit cradled against Mulder's chest as they all sat around the TV screen to watch holiday movies.

When the movies were over the tv was turned off and Bill stood up, "Santa will be here in a few hours!", Bill announced, to the excitement of Patrick and Junior's kids.

"It's time to head over to my place," Maggie said.

Bill, Tara, Matthew, his wife Amy with their baby Christine grabbed their coats and belongings and headed for the door.

"Row call is at 6 a.m," Maggie stated.

"Bye, see you then!", Scully waved.

William stood up and started gathering the bowls, helping to clean and he placed all the dishes in the dishwasher without being asked.

"I think someone is getting a little excited," Scully said, when he returned to sit in front of them on the floor.

"No I'm not," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Both Mulder and Scully looked at each other. Patrick and Junior and their wives and kids were sprawled out on the sectional asleep and so they refocused on their son. "Hey, I think there's a gift over there in the corner for you," Mulder said.

William looked up surprised. He could easily tape into their minds and read their thoughts but he grew tired of knowing their every move. He found it more interesting in life if he didn't know and so he looked at both his parents with wide-eyed wonder. "What? For now?"

"Open it," Scully said, anxious herself to see what Mulder had picked out. She hoped it didn't have UFO's or Grey Aliens on it.

William stretched out his hand and the gift came to him. He cocked his head and shrugged his shoulder. "I had a long day. I'm being lazy."

Scully raised an eyebrow at him. William ripped open his gift and pulled out the pair of brand new red silken pajamas and he was astonished. "Are you sure you can't read minds?", he questioned. "I love it."

"It's nice. You're father has some just like it."

"I know," he said, running his fingers over the material. "The Van DeKamp's used to do this for me every year."

"We know," Scully said. "You told us and we don't want you to forget them. We are your biological parents, William, but for most of your life, they were your parents."

William wiped away a tear and then on his knees he hugged his parents one at a time. "Thank You. It feels like Christmas now," he smiled like Scully.

Scully smiled back and touched his face. "Go change into them and then get in the bed, your grandma is very strict about 6 am Christmas row call, believe me!"

"Okay," he said, gathering up his pajamas and heading off towards his room, smiling.

"I think that's the first time we've seen the little boy come out in him," she sighed. "The one we missed but we got a glimpse of him just now."

"I know," Mulder said as they sat in place, enjoying the moment.

**Please Leave Feedback: Thanks!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Christmas 2013**

**The Family Meets William**

**Part 8**

**by Trycee**

**Time-Line: Christmas 2013**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the X-files, this is written for fun not profit.**

Scully awoke on Mulder's chest. She looked around and noticed the clock read 4.50 am. She peeled herself off of him and then scooted herself up towards his ear. In the years since they'd become a couple, Mulder had become a seriously hard-to-wake sleeper. She whispered into his ear, "Mulder, get up!"

Mulder dug even deeper into the covers. Scully sighed. "Mulder, it's Christmas morning and in just an hour there will be a house full of people. GET UP!"

Mulder opened one eye. "Scully, get away from me. It's too early in the morning!"

"It's Christmas, Mulder!"

Knowing her hands were cold she placed her hand over his stomach. He bolted up immediately.

"Scully!", he yelled. "Your hands are ice cold!"

"And get showered and dressed!', she said with a smile, heading towards the bathroom.

After dressing, Scully started the coffee and waited for Mulder to roll out of the bedroom. The lights were off with only the Christmas tree lighting the living room but she could still see William asleep on the couch; he'd somehow ended up asleep by the tree during the night. She smiled to herself remembering how she as a child would be the one who was first under the tree. Mulder kissed Scully's cheek as she handed him a cup of coffee. "It's five freaking something in the morning, Scully," he grumbled.

"And a Merry Christmas to you too!", she said, sarcastically.

Mulder huffed but she gazed up into his eyes and he smiled. "You're so gorgeous," he said, looking at her dressed in a soft downy sweater and pants. He couldn't resist as he pushed the strand out of her face, which was impeding his view. She smiled a full wattage-Scully smile at him and his heart melted. "Incredibly gorgeous," he smiled. "What more could I want for Christmas?", he said, turning to walk towards the sofa.

Mulder stopped in his tracks when he saw William dressed in his red pajamas sleeping with a blanket thrown over his body with nothing but his bare feet sticking out up close to the Christmas tree. "He's so beautiful..."

"I can't believe its our first Christmas with him," Scully said, coming to stand by his side. "It doesn't seem real, does it?"

"No," he said, staring.

"Is it time to open the gifts?", William said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

Mulder and Scully gazed at one another. "No," Mulder stated. "But, I would get up if I were you unless you want your Uncle and Aunts sitting on you."

William shot up from the couch but then looked around. "They're not even here yet...awl, I have time," and then laid back down.

Scully chuckled. "He's your son!"

Mulder laughed. "That he is," he said, sitting down next to Williams bare feet as he continued to lay sprawled out on the couch, a blanket covering all but his toes which were inches from Mulder's leg.

Scully stared up in the dark at the UFO Tree Topper as it spun and flashed blue, green and red lights on down to what looked like a sea of gifts under the tree and it struck her at the beauty of it all. "This moment right now," she said, looking at her small family. "Has to be my favorite moment," she said to Mulder who was highlighted by the flashing UFO lights.

Scully could hear Patrick and Junior and their wives stirring in the upstairs attic guest room they'd converted and she heard the cars pulling into the drive way in the snow before the front door flew open and a cheery-eyed Maggie Scully entered along with Bill, Tara, Matthew, Amy and Baby Christine carried in her mother's arms as she slept. Maggie hugged her daughter. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!", she said in return.

William scooted up and laid his head on his father's shoulder, placing his blanket around him as he tried to get in a few more winks,, despite the crowd of people around him. Mulder sipped on his coffee and acknowledged each family member as they acknowledged him. Junior and Patrick and their families soon gathered up their sleeping children and trickled down the steps to sit around the tree.

"Time to pass out gifts," Bill said, excitedly as Scully turned on the radio to play Christmas music in the background.

Mulder rubbed Williams' arm, "Come on, wake up, son. Time to open the presents."

William struggled to open his eyes. Finally, when he was fully awake, he looked around. "What's going on?"

Matthew chuckled. "I really like this kid. A house Full of people and he asks, 'What's going on?'"

William rubbed his eyes. "I'm a fourteen year old MAN!"

"Oh, that's right, a man, excuse me!", Matt giggled. "Come on, let's open gifts."

William slid down to the floor and stared at the mountain of gifts in front of him. His eyes widened and he could see his mom seated on the couch next to her mother, watching him with excitement.

"Okay," Bill said. "Let's begin!", he said, starting to pass out gifts. "William, this is for you."

William smiled and ripped it open. "Ooh, a Samsung Galaxy 10 Tablet," he said, with enlarged eyes.

"Man, that's expensive!", Junior said.

"I can't afford something like that," Patrick spoke.

"Mulder and I _both_ have done well over the years," Scully said, sternly.

William glanced up at both his dad and his mom who were both smiling widely. "I know this is from you both, I can read minds!"

Everyone chuckled much to William's amusement. He was fitting in and he was enjoying himself.

Junior and Patricks' children opened their gifts to bright colored toys and dolls and they screamed and giggled and played with their parents. Mulder was handed several gifts and he laughed at every one of them which were all UFO themed from gray aliens to green alien ties and figurines. Then Bill handed him a gift from Scully and both Mulder and Williams' eyes lit up. He tore open the package to see a photo of Scully and William hugging each other. They were nearly the same complexion, both with oceanic blue eyes that looked deep into your soul and with auburn hair and the same wide smile that warmed Mulder's heart. He stared continuously at the photo as Scully watched him from across the room. "Mulder?", she finally said.

He stood up and walked behind the sofa's and reached out his hand. Scully stood up and walked to the back with him. He smiled his crooked smile and brushed a red curl out of her face. "The photo of you both, besides loving me and giving me a son, was the best gift I've ever had."

Scully smiled shyly. "Thank you," she said, holding his hand.

"Dana," Bill said, "This was tucked in the back, it's from Mulder."

"Fox!", Maggie said. "I'm warning you! It better not be X-rated! We've had enough of that over the years!"

Mulder looked shocked. "Who me?", he said, with a smirk.

Scully grabbed the package and then carefully opened it, the entire time keeping a watchful eye on Mulder. He stood with his arms crossed as everyone waited for the latest of Mulder's notorious 'bad' gifts. Scully opened the package and smiled. "Oh Mulder, this is beautiful!"

"What is it?", everyone asked.

"It's a Spa Package with a new robe, slippers, and bath oils. You know me so well."

Charles patted him on the back. "You disappoint me Mulder. I was looking forward to one of your Elvis Bobble Head or Wrinkle Creams or something that would make me laugh all year. You disappoint me."

Mulder smiled back at his brother-n-law. "Not this year, Charles. I had a little help."

"Thank God!", Scully said, walking up to them both and sliding her hand around his waist.

"Yeah, thank god!", Charles joked, slapping Mulder on the arm.

Mulder shook his head. "I'm not that bad, am I?"

Scully's eyebrows raised. "Well...", she said, with her eyes wide.

"Mom. Dad.," William said, walking up to them.

They turned to look at their son. He opened his arms to them both and they hugged him back tightly. "Thank you for all the gifts," he said. "Thank you for being my mom and dad."

Scully gasped and then with both hands she cupped Williams face. "I love you SO much!", she said.

"I know! I can read your thoughts, remember?", William said.

Mulder tousled Williams hair. "Love you too son."

William smiled back at him. "And thanks Dad for taking me and Ann to the mall yesterday ."

Mulder grabbed his arm. "Of course," he said.

Maggie stood up. "Whose up for cinnamon rolls?"

"I am!", William said, excitedly.

Mulder pulled Scully against him as they watched their son's excitement. Maggie kissed her grandson on the cheek and kissed each of her great-grandchildren as they danced around her. "Tara, Dana, Janet, KITCHEN!", Margaret ordered.

Amy, Junior and Patrick's wives gathered their sleepy much younger children and their toys to let them sleep in their arms r on the sofa or on a pallet on the floor they'd made. William grabbed a garbage bag and began cleaning up the living room with his Uncle Bill and Matthew helping him. As Maggie took over in Scully's kitchen as usual, it made Scully smile as she saw her mother turn on the under the counter radio to Christmas carols as she pulled out bowls for her famous homemade cinnamon rolls.

"I need someone to make fruit salad!", Maggie ordered. "I need someone to help with the cinnamon rolls and I need someone to make eggs and potatoes enough to feed the Navy!"

All of the women began to divide up and Scully began to work with her mom making the cinnamon rolls from scratch. She'd spent her entire life making them every Christmas and so they worked quickly enjoying each others company as they baked and cleaned up. When they were done cooking, they laid food out and everyone ate an early breakfast before gathering their gifts and luggage to start leaving.

Bill hugged his sister tightly. "I love you sis, you know that, right?"

"I know, old man!", she smiled, hugging him back. "Take care, OK?"

"OK. Next Christmas is at our place in California."

"Deal!", she smiled.

Charles was next in line to hug her. "I'm gonna miss you, sis. I hate that we see each other only once or twice a year."

"I know. Next Christmas we will be not far from you at Bill's. So we'll see you there."

"Sounds good," he smiled.

Matthew patted William on the back. "Nice meeting you little cuz."

"Nice meeting you too," William said.

Bill bent down and hugged William, touching him for the first time. "I'm glad your my nephew," he said.

William searched Bill's heart and could tell he was telling the truth. "Thanks."

"Thank you for saving my son's life," Bill said, sincerely.

"We're family," William said.

Bill nodded his head and shook William's hand. "That we are. We're family."

Tara opened her arms to William and hugged him tightly. "You're gonna stay with us this summer."

"Okay," William said.

Janet hugged him as well. "Good bye, Will."

"Bye!", he smiled.

Maggie hugged both Mulder and Scully and then kissed William on the cheek.

"You're going home so soon?", Scully asked. "I mean it's not even 9 am."

"Everyone has to drive into D.C. to catch their respective flights except Bill, Tara, Matt and Amy, they still have to come back to my place first and get their stuff but then they're heading out to beat the holiday travelers who'll be traveling back home tomorrow. I'm going home and sleeping!", she announced, gathering all of her gifts in bags.

"We've got midnight Mass on New Year's Eve, Mom."

"I know!", Maggie stated. "And I expect you all to be there, including you Fox."

"I'll be there," Mulder said.

They waved from the porch as everyone jumped into their rental cars and drove off leaving their home empty just to themselves once again. Scully sighed and looked at her small family. William retreated back to the couch, tossing the blanket over his head once again with his gifts within reach. Mulder plopped down on the sofa and patted it inviting Scully to come sit next to him. She sat down and curled up in his arms, and they could see their son next to them.

"Another Christmas, Scully." Mulder sighed. "But this year was special. This year we got what we wanted."

"And he's perfect," Scully agreed.

"And he can hear you!", William said, pulling the blanket over his ears.

They smiled to themselves and then gazed at one another, connecting through their eyes and communicating wordless the way they always did.

"And I can hear that too," William sighed.

Scully looked surprised. "Go back to sleep, William, It's Christmas! "

She watched as Williams red hair peeked up for a bit and then ducked back down under the covers, his bare feet poking out. Mulder looked down into her loving eyes and they both looked back at their son. "This was the perfect Christmas," Scully whispered. "We have him home with us. No more wishing. No more waiting. He's here. And it's perfect."

"It is, Scully," Mulder smiled. "I have our son, I have you, there's nothing more I could ever want, Scully. Nothing more."

"Me either.", she said.

Mulder looked down into her beautiful face and his lips met hers. "I love you, Scully."

"I love you Mulder, forever."

**The End**


End file.
